Human Road Kill

I have no pictures for this blog, and it's quite a disturbing one (yes, worse than the baboon one), but I'm still going to post it.

This morning was the last day of my Cape to Addo tour so we started out around 5 am for our 6 hour drive back to Cape Town. I think I've written previously about the road conditions here and how crazy people drive. Pedestrians are the last of their worries. I'm not exactly sure how to convert kilometers to miles, but the average speed is around 130 kilometers/hour.

This morning we had been driving around half an hour when we came to flashing lights in the road. It was still dark, so we couldn't see much, but the police were guiding traffic around the side of the road and carrying on about their normal business. As we pass, I see something that looked rather large to be an animal laying in the middle of the road. As we get closer and the headlights highlight more of the road, I was able to make out a human leg and body, along with a separate leg over on the side of the road, and a lot of blood.
As a child, I don't think I ever really understood the meaning of 'smashed like a bug'. But, after seeing this man, I can totally understand what it means. The only thing not smashed was his head.

It was really depressing seeing this person, who was obviously homeless (he didn't have shoes or a jacket), smashed in the road without anybody really worrying about it. In the States, the police would at least cover the body or stop traffic from passing and viewing it. But, here it is such a common occurrence that they just motion traffic around and go on about their work.

When asking if it was a common occurance and why people didn't act shocked by it, the guide just laughed and said, "It's a different world here, lady."

Baboon Attack

I have never been afraid of animals. In fact, I love animals and have always had a very special interest for monkeys.
When arriving in South Africa, I was told to beware of the baboons, who are huge and have been known to attack and kill humans. I didn't think much of the warning, thinking that they only attacked when scared, threatened, or hungry:)
I never thought I would actually run across a baboon while here. But, while on my Cape to Addo tour this past week, I visited Tsitsikamma National Park and had a very close encounter with one of the monkeys!


The picture above shows the bridge that we had to cross to climb to the top of Tsitsikamma. You can see the baboon just chilling out on the bridge. We all thought that the baboon would wander off by the time we got to the bridge, but it seemed he was waiting for us to come across.
As we walk across the bridge, the baboon walks away from us and waits on the other side of the bride for us to come across. As we approach the end of the bridge, the baboon still sits, not afraid at all.
At this point, I was more than ready to turn around and let the baboon have his bridge. I didn't want to be in the statistics of the # of people killed by baboon attacks in SA. But, the others in the group chose to go on, and I didn't have much of a choice unless I wanted to be stuck in the forest alone.

I can say that I have never been so scared in my life. This baboon is standing about two feet away as we walk past and completely invade his space. As we walk past, the baboon opens his mouth and growls at us, showing his HUGE teeth. It sounds like something from a movie, and it still doesn't seem real.

I forgot to add that I was carrying a bright orange bag over my shoulders.

I walk almost past the monkey and that's when he decides that he really really wants my bag. He comes running over to me, opens his mouth to intimidate me, and snatches at my bag. I have never been quite as scared of an animal as I was of this baboon. As it snatches at my bag, all kinda of thoughts are running through my head: should I give it the bag (which has my passport, money, and credit cards in it. I don't see what the baboon would really want with the bag), should I run, should I stand still, should I make lion noises(just a quick thought:). Thankfully, as I am thinking (and simultaneously standing still) the baboon decides he is tired of snatching bags for the day. He leaves and roams about 10 feet away to his rock cave (we really were invading his space).

I don't think I will ever cross paths with a baboon again. If I do see one, I will definitely give it it's space and let it be. Apparently the baboons at Tsitsikamma are bag snatchers. They have their own personal staff to look after them and make sure they aren't a) snatching bags, or b) breaking into the guests cabins stealing food.

Smart, Dangeorus Monkeys! I still don't know what he might have wanted with my bag! Except maybe to go trade it in for some bananas.

'Cause this is Africa

Becasue this is Africa! That's what everyone says right after they tell you how dangerous something is.





"Hold your bag when you walk down the street and never make eye contact with the mini buses, because this is Africa."





"Take three or four friends with you to the ATM, because this is Africa."





"Never leave your window rolled down while stopped at a red light, because this is Africa."





"Don't take your camera out even if you want a picture, because this is Africa!"


Today was my last day with the kids at Home of Hope. I will miss the little guys, but I can't say that I will miss all the bites, head butts, smacks, falls off the playsets, massive fights, or the dirty nappies!

Beach Walk

I have never walked so much in my life! I just thought Croatia was a lot of walking. Here in Cape Town, you have to walk 30 minutes to get anywhere! Thirty minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but when you add in the walk back and all the sketchy buses and people that you are having to run from, it adds up!



But, I really wanted to see Blawbaurgh beach before I left. So, me and Laina decided the walk was worth it. We set out after work to walk to the beach. We walked through a homeless village, a mini bus parade, and a Chinese shop where all the drug lords hang out. Then, we made it to the beach. Once we got there we were debating if we really wanted to concur the walk back. It was a great beach! Kinda deserted, but great. I have never seen a sport as cool as kite surfing. If I didn't have a fear of water, I would definitely give the sport a go. These people get air born for up to minutes at a time, and they go so so fast. It looks bloody awesome, as all the British folks would say.

Table Mountain is still the most amazing thing to me. In the picture above you can see the 'table cloth' directly above the mountain. This happens almost everyday. Rarely is Table Mountain completely uncovered by clouds. Some days, if you didn't know that Table Mountain existed, you would be completely oblivious to it. The clouds just take it over. Directly beside Table Mountain is Lions' Head.

Just thought I would give a quick post on the beach walk! :)

Hope

The kids that I have had the chance to meet through my experience with Home of Hope are absolutely adorable! Yes, they can be annoying little ankle bitters who wipe snot all over you, but they can also be so so so sweet. I stopped a moment today to think of the kids and the future that they might have. All of these kids have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and most of them are HIV +. So, they are going to have a tough life. Home of Hope is trying to help these kids and give them a better chance in life, but in the long run there's only so much you can do. It's very disappointing to know that these kids, who have no say in the disorders they are put in this life with, are very likely to end up living under the bridges like the street people that we fed a few nights ago. The possibility that these kids will grow up, finish high school, get a job, and be able to take care of themselves is very very slim. It's nice to be able to help these kids grow and develop into the best person they can be, but there's only so much you can do.


I got the chance to volunteer with a girl from New Jersey who is studying Anthropology/Biology back in the States. She is writing a thesis on FASD, so she is very aware of the problems that these kids face. She is studying the differences in the prevalence of FASD in the US and SA. She was telling me that in the US, FASD is controlled through awareness and counseling. The highest prevalence in the US is with the Native Americans because they were moved about so much in the previous years. According to her, they had nothing better to do than to drink and they did not know of the risks. Whereas, here the kids that are suffering from the disorder are mostly orphans, street kids, and kids of the townships. One reason behind this is lack of awareness, and another is lack of care! Some of the children's mothers are mentally retarded themselves and just don't understand, and others no nothing else to do but drink.
The awareness of FASD is still very low here in SA. But, the problem is just beginning to be recognized. So, maybe in the near future awareness can be raised for this disorder and more children can be sparred from the effects of it.

How much of a difference can a few volunteers really make? We were talking about this earlier and came to the conclusion that we will not even think about it. Some days it just seems so tough. We make all of these sandwiches and take them to the street people, but then we just leave and all these people are just left without a warm place to sleep and a decent meal or medical care.

We spend so much time wiping these kids noses and trying our best to help them reach their highest potential, and then we just leave and the kids continue on with their life.

I absolutely love this picture. We worked a while to get all of the kids in one area around me. The final product turned out priceless! :)

Snotty Noses

I never want to wipe another snotty nose in my life! Especially a green, slimy one! It's winter in South Africa, so all the kids are passing around various flues. All six of the kids at the orphanage bring along green snotty noses every morning. So, my entire day was spent wiping nose after nose after nose after nose. Even though the kid in the picture looks so cute, innocent, and clean, in real life he's actually a snotty nosed little bugger! Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but the snotty noses are turning me off a bit for the moment.


Snotty noses aren't the only thing that I am tired of....fights are another! Breaking up arguments seems like my life's work, second to wiping noses. I do not understand why one toy can be so darn important. These kids will kill each other over one freakin lego, when there's about 500 other identical legos in the toy box. I just don't get it!
OH! and there's one kid that has decided it's so much fun to bite me. Every morning as soon as he gets a break from fighting the other kids, he waits for a moment when am not looking and bites me. Crazy, crazy kid. I have so many bruises on my legs where he has bitten me. He's worse than a dog, when he bites he just won't let go.

The little boy in the photo below has grown on me. At first, I absolutely HATED him. He would not listen to anything I said and he would head butt me as often as possible. He would try to kill the other kids, and he's autistic so he's pretty capable! But, one day I had some one on one time with him (which is rare), and he won me over! Not to say that he's gotten any better...but he's a pretty cool kid. He still head butts me for fun and tries to kill his friends and the dog, but we sort of have an agreement now.

Kids are cute, but I definitely don't think I can handle a career dealing with them.

Peninsula Tour

This Sunday I was able to participate in the Cape Peninsula tour. It was absolutely fabulous! Getting out of Cape Town was so nice, and the tour led us to some much safer, nicer areas! We got to drive up Table Mountain, through many beaches and marinas, to Boulder's Beach penguin colony, and down to the most south western point of Africa. The tour took about 8 hours form start to finish. I have some favorite pictures that I want to share:

Penguins at Boulder's Beach:
Wild ostriches along our drive:

I LOVE the rainbow above the mountain:

Table Mountain and Lion's Head: